An Indecent Proposal / Jeovany Jimenez Vega Jeovany J. Vega, Translator: Unstated, In response to an article published by Jean-Guy Allard in the newspaper Granma on November 12, in which Yoani Sanchez is accused, for the umpteenth time, of being "a mercenary working for the United States." Clearly the theme "Generation Y" has escaped the [...] Continue reading →

Misleading Balancing Act / Miriam Celaya Miriam Celaya, Translator: Norma Whiting At first glance, it would seem that nothing changes in Cuba. The system seems to gently continue down its inexorable march toward a crash that, nevertheless, doesn't seem to ever arrive, just like the future promised by the defunct revolution. People continue to do [...] Continue reading →

Salary in Kilowatts / Rosa Maria Rodriguez Torrado Rosa Maria Rodriguez Torrado, Translator: mlk He works driving a truck for the electric company. He is married, has three kids, and his wife is a nurse at the 10th of October Mother and Child Hospital, better known by its previous name of Daughters of Galicia. The [...] Continue reading →

U.S. should approach Cuban embargo with caution Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 It has been more than 50 years since President John F. Kennedy signed a trade embargo against Cuba, mainly because of Cuba's relationship with Russia during the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The embargo restricts American companies from forming business relationships [...] Continue reading →

An Assessment of the Cuban Government's Management Over the Last Six Years / Dimas Castellano Dimas Castellanos, Translator: Unstated Four decades after taking power through revolution in 1959, the factors which made totalitarianism in Cuba possible have reached their limit. The populist measures imposed during the first years after the revolution were accompanied by the [...] Continue reading →

Posted on Monday, 11.19.12 'A different and diminished Castro' BY BRIAN LATELL afterfidel@aol.com He spoke on the public record more than any political figure in history. It is a strange and dubious distinction to be sure. But during 48 years in power Fidel Castro elevated public discourse into a form of narcissistic excess unlikely ever [...] Continue reading →

Russian oil company to invest $126m in offshore exploration Russian state oil company Zarubezhneft will spend close to $126 million on near-shore exploration off north-central Cuba that will begin in December, a Russian official said during a visit to the island. The Songa Mercur, a Soviet-built and Norwegian-owned semi-submersible, arrived Nov. 15 in Cuban waters, [...] Continue reading →

Posted on Wednesday, 11.14.12 Journalist for Cuba's Granma convicted of spying José Antonio Torres was charged after writing about mismanaged public works project. By Juan O. Tamayo jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com A journalist with Cuba's Granma newspaper was sentenced to 14 years in prison for spying, a charge filed soon after he reported on the government's mishandling of [...] Continue reading →

The 'Outraged' of Cuba November 8, 2012 Fernando Ravsberg* HAVANA TIMES — Lourdes Machado is a Cuban from Santa Clara who spent $20 USD — the equivalent of her monthly salary — on a pair of shoes that fell apart after only 30 days. She went back to the store for a refund but the [...] Continue reading →

Cubans can leave, but to where and with what? Girish Gupta, Special for USA TODAYShare Cuba announced it will lift its travel ban, but the expense and the fine print will probably mean many Cubans will stay put. Story Highlights - Cuba announced a lifting of its travel ban in January - It is unlikely [...] Continue reading →

Head of Cuban cigar factory Partagas allegedly arrested in Havana Posted November 07, 2012 by publisher Various bloggers are reporting that the head of the Partagas factory in Havana, Abel Exposito, was arrested last week. Since there is no official word from Cuban authorities, information contained in this article cannot be verified. The alleged charges [...] Continue reading →

Cuba: The Capos of State Administration November 7, 2012 Yenisel Perez Rodriguez HAVANA TIMES — The consolidation of capos in Cuban state administration favors the maintenance of authoritarian order in the country. They are representatives of those highly conflictive contexts of the underground economy that reaches the whole of Cuban society. We are talking about [...] Continue reading →

Violator and Ousted / Luis Felipe Rojas Luis Felipe Rojas, Translator: Raul G. The whirlwind of corruption, the lack of ethics and the indiscipline have shaken the foundations of the police unit of San German, in Holguin. Another neighborhood bloodhound has been victim of its own bite, originally trained to demolish any form of human [...] Continue reading →